The present invention relates to a soil filled wall which may be used as a free-standing sound barrier or the face of a retention wall for earthen formation. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with such a wall comprised of a pair of spaced welded wire panels defining a cavity therebetween which may be filled with soil. The invention is also concerned with a method of making such a wall.
The prior art teaches the use of gabions for retaining earthen formations and the use of welded wire or polymeric gridworks for reinforcing and retaining soil formations. Gabions are rock-filled baskets and in current technology are typically fabricated of wires twisted together. Welded wire walls are taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,117,686, 4,391,557 and 4,505,621. In the case of these patents, welded wire gridworks form both soil reinforcing structure and a face structure for the wall. Rocks are disposed behind the face structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,557 teaches forming concrete around the welded wire face structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,939 teaches a wall comprised of a combination of a polymeric gridwork mat and a welded wire gridwork.